No Power in the Verse
by marysverse
Summary: The crew of Serenity didn't know what to expect after the Miranda wave, but they did not expect the silence. Getting back to business, they take on another mysterious passenger that may bring more trouble to their plate than they can bear. River/Riddick
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my first attempt at Firefly so be gentle, this takes place after the series and after the movie. Of course I own nothing, just trying to keep the spirit of Firefly alive.

No Power in the Verse: **Bad Cargo**

The ship was quiet, everyone slept, some sounder than others. Their dreams invaded her mind in flashes, haunting dreams of the dinosaur king, doubts and regrets intermixed with dissatisfaction, glimpses of fiery red waves always out of reach, bar fights, battles long ago waged.

She let them wash through her, having learned that fighting them was useless and led to the swelling of her cranial nerves. She immersed herself in the privacy of others' minds that screamed for attention, pleading with them to quiet. They settled into the background, realizing that her mind was not the acknowledgement they really wanted.

She began humming softly to herself, letting the scene from Le corsaire pas de deux unfold in her mind as her feet traced the steps against the cool grating. Nothing could be heard but her soft humming and the occasional swish of her dress as she jumped and spun around the cargo bay, eyes closed.

The girl was happy, the ghost of her past being embraced in the present. She stilled halfway through, her imaginary partner spinning away from her as an intense wave of mourning swept through her.

She looked up knowingly to the glean of tears hidden in the shadows. He wept for all that she was, all that she had lost, the grace that she was meant for. She stepped back, silently walking away from him, what could she say to him, how could she explain? She was what she was, she was present, she did not mourn her ghost.

* * *

"Kaylee!"

"No need to go a shoutin' cap'n, I'm right here."

"Try to hook some new passengers, but there best not be no Alliance folk. Have River read 'em, dong ma?" He reminded with a stern face, softening the reprimand with a smirk and a wink.

She waved them off to do their dirty dealings, stretching out in her chair and keeping a sharp eye on the passing crowd. Seemed not too long ago that they were there before, before the madness.

"The white star shines everyday, no matter what the atmospheric conditions are." Kaylee startled at River's voice, still not used to her ability to creep up on her.

"What does it matter if it does? Everyone still feels the storm." River smiled, pleased that Kaylee could understand her better.

"It matters, the storm will pass and people know it will, because the white star shines everyday." She played with a tendril of her hair as Kaylee finally smiled back at her.

"It is awfully nice t'day, ain't it?"

Coiling her hair around her finger and letting it drop, she inspected the brilliant skyline. Thirty-two point two degrees Celsius, atmospheric circulation at four knots, six percent visible cloud cover, prime conditions for overexposure to radiation.

"Yes, it is." She reassured her, wrapping a light scarf around Kaylee's exposed neck and shoulders. She did not wish to say anything to dampen Kaylee's tentative optimism. She had been hit hardest by the Miranda wave, and the aftermath; it pleased her to see Kaylee smiling again.

* * *

"Well, well, I see you got that b't of hero business out of yer system."

Mal's smirk slipped into a grim line, "You waved me with promise of business, that's all I'm fixin to speak on with the likes of you." A dangerous glint in his eyes dared him to press further.

Badger studied him, he wanted to push on, to see if it had broken him; but Mal's gun hand tightened his grip on his assault rifle and he felt his interest wane on the topic.

"Oi, we got business, let's have ourselves a palaver." He waved him to take a seat to sort out the particulars. Jayne took up his sentry position by the door while Zoe let out an inaudible breath of relief as she stood behind the Captain, listening to the details.

The last thing they needed was another Greenleaf incident; they had barely made it out alive the last time an unsavory man had thought to bring up the Miranda wave. Truth to be told, she had no qualms putting down the man who thought to cheapen the hardships they had endured, it was his five armed buddies that became the real difficulty.

"Simple transport job, destination is Ezra. You drop off the cargo, pick up the cargo and turn your lovely l'ttle bug back here for coin."

Mal let out a low whistle, "That's clear across verse in the Georgia system, your simple transport job will take quite some time with the most direct path being blocked by three Alliance stations."

"That's why this job doesn't come with a time stamp. Take all the time in the verse you need, but you don't get paid until the cargo comes back." Badger leaned back in his chair feigning indifference, waiting for Mal to mull it over. This was the fifth smuggler he'd approached, no one wanted to touch this cargo.

"A third now."

"Yer out of yer bloody mind."

"Well that may be true, but the coin weighing down you left jacket pocket says different. This job ain't simple and it'll take quite a bit of coin just to get there and back. This is the deal."

"How's I to know you won't just take the third."

Mal leveled him with steady eye. "I don't take coin less I'm doin the job. If I don't come back it's cause me and your cargo are lost to the verse."

Badger let out soft chuckle and tossed the coin purse to Mal.

"Where's the cargo?"

"Right here." A voice growled out from the shadows. A large fellow stepped from the shadows, black tank, black cargos, black combat boots topped off with a wicked pair of goggles. His musculature made Jayne look atrophied and the twist of his lips sent a slice of fear in everybody in the room.

"This is your man?" Mal asked with a raised brow. Badger stood up a bit nervously, edging towards the door.

"Ain't no ones man, but my own." The stranger rasped out, giving the Dyton a hard look.

"Well that's just shiny then, let's make some headway. Got any personals?"

He shifted his focus to Mal, unnerving him with his eyeless gaze.

"No." The man in black moved towards the door and headed out, leaving Badger to make his hasty departure before questions could be asked and three smugglers scratching their heads at what exactly they had agreed to.

* * *

Kaylee was beginning to feel a bit frustrated. No one was wanting to take passage on her girl. Serenity was often spoken in the same breath as the Miranda wave, and disbelief, ridicule and distrust had followed them 'round the verse. She was starting to feel down right insulted.

"They bury their heads. Would rather be in the dark. Still keen from the last campaign, do not want another."

Taking a minute to decipher the River speak, Kaylee studied the crowd.

"No one's askin' 'em to start a war. I thought…I always believed…I mean, what kind of people just don't _care_?" She trembled out, she had never spoken on how shaken her world had been after the Miranda wave had been met by deafening silence.

She brightened automatically, pulling herself together as strapping man with a shaved head made his way purposefully towards her.

"Hi there! I'm Kaylee, you looking for passage?"

He strode straight past her, heading up the ramp.

"Umm…excuse me, mister…?" Kaylee stammered unsure how she was supposed to prevent the man from his apparent intention to steal the ship.

"Riddick. He is Richard B. Riddick." River announced causing him to pause and turn his head in her direction. He looked at the wisp of a girl, growling as his body screamed danger.

"Do I know you girl?"

She cocked her head at him, making a face that told him he had asked a stupid question.

"You would know if you did." She turned her back to him and reassured her, "S'okay Kaylee, he belongs here, no need to fuss. He knows his path."

Mal, Jayne and Zoe hoofed up to the dock. Mal was surprised the man had beaten them there since they had run back to the ship not wanting the girls to be alone with him. He was not surprised the man had known which ship to go to and how to get there, he looked to be the kind to do his recon.

He kept one eye on him as he spoke to Kaylee.

"Any other boarders?"

"Sorry cap'n, no takers."

"Just as well, this guy would spook 'em off anyhow. Let's start her up. Jayne show him his bunk. Zoe give Wash the nav points. River with me." He ordered, not at all liking the angry grumble coming from their cargo as he stared at the girl.

Mal headed straight to the kitchen where no one would be as River trailed behind him. He turned her small frame to face him as soon as he was out of earshot.

"Baobei, please tell me I didn't just ruttin' agree to transport a killer psychopath that's going to slit our throats in our sleep?" He asked, trying in vain to keep the desperate edge out of his voice.

Riddick paused outside his door, listening to Mal's plea vibrate through the metal ship. Jayne, oblivious to what Riddick could hear, muttered his way through an excuse to leave, all sorts of creepified by the snarling smile spreading across the man's face.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Gosh this is super embarrassing but I was struggling with whether or not to keep Wash in or out of this story and I kept changing my mind which led to inconsistencies while I was writing the first chapter. So sorry for the screw up, I've decided Wash needs to be alive and well because I don't want to introduce a new pilot and I don't want River to be remanded to the helm, her talents lie elsewhere. This one is very short, I know that sometimes bugs people but I promise to update sooner to make up for it. To everyone who reviewed, thank you and I hope you enjoy! And yes this is a River/Riddick pairing.

**No Power in the Verse: Dealing with Tigers**

She sifted through his racing thoughts, the man thought a million miles a second, each thought having its own cluster of related business. She tried to focus on one thing, he had asked a question. There had been a question and he was staring intently at her, waiting for a response. She plucked the one that burned the brightest, but no, that wasn't right, he would not ask her that. Trying again, she found one laced with a taste of fear, yes, that had been his question.

"Probability confirms your hypothesis, but the man will not act on probability. Right now, we are in a symbiotic stasis, will notify when relationship changes." She patted his hand reassuringly, attempting to mimic Simon's mannerisms, and treaded quietly away. Unfortunately, she left the captain not at all reassured and entirely unsettled, especially as his mind revolved on the word "when." But business was business; prospects had slimmed considerably since Miranda and he trusted unquestioningly that his girl would ensure they stay a step ahead of the stranger.

* * *

She was preoccupied as she walked to her bunk. The thought that had burned so bright had surprised her; she had not seen this coming. The human mind is so complex, it thinks without thinking, most often thoughts are instinctual, a habit projected by correlating relationships. For instance Kaylee was briefly wondering what it would be like to throw herself at Jayne instead of the wrench she had just set sailing at his head to chase him out of her domain. But she would never act out on the thought and the imagery was dismissed before it could even be fully registered by her consciousness. That was how the mind acted normally, without a directive; it surged about in every wild direction.

She climbed down to her bunk and closed the door without calling for the lights. A hand shot out and grabbed her right shoulder, spinning her about. In a half second, her back was pressed against a hard form, one heavily muscled arm wrapped across her chest, the other pressing a sharp blade against her neck. She did not struggle nor move to counteract the position.

He was surprised, had fully expected whimpering pleas and tears. He allowed himself a full inhale of her scent, confused to find not a trace of fear or panic. In fact he couldn't find much in her scent at all that he could recognize, but it called to him, his mind and body reveled in it, screamed for a taste. But he was not ruled by primal urges, except the kill, that's the only voice he ever listened to.

"How do you know me girl?" She felt the question rumble up from his chest to his throat.

"Know you from you, you know much but acknowledge little. You whisper, whisper so softly you can't hear." He eased the pressure of the blade on her neck when he felt his shiv slice a paper-thin cut along her pretty little throat as she spoke. He resisted the urge to lick the tiny bead of blood.

"You in my head girl?" He growled at the strange sensation that vibrated through his body at the thought of her knowing him, of this inexplicable connection.

She gave a bright bite of laughter, "You, and everyone else in this verse." A low snarl unintentionally escaped his throat. There was no connection, she was just a fuckin' reader. He lowered his shiv from her and released his hold. She spun around gracefully to stare up at him. The undetectable amount of light in her darkened room reflected brilliantly from his eyes. She was not shocked, or afraid, or in awe. She studied him like she could see him, as clear as he could see her.

"You stay the fuck outta my head." He thrust the point of his shiv menacingly at her to emphasis his point. As he pulled his blade back she swept her leg out, taking out his knees, forcing him on his back. He went roll up into a defensive crouch but she was already on him, twisting a cluster of nerves at his shoulders with deft fingers. The shock went straight down his arm forcing the shiv to drop, clattering against the metal grate. He swept his good arm up to knock her senseless but abruptly stopped the motion when he found himself eyeballing the pointy end of his own shiv.

Here he was, Richard Badass Riddick, lying on his back, mounted by a slip of a girl with his own blade a millimeter from his right eye. He was pissed, and aroused, which only pissed him off more. Girl did not know who she was fucking with.

"Will not go to the shadows," she tapped his head with her free hand, "you stay out of mine." It took him a minute to understand.

"Don't fuck with me, I won't fuck with you?" He laughed this time; it sent tiny shivers up her spine.

"I like your style girl." She gracefully dismounted his prone form, handing back his shiv, not at all concerned with the consequences of her power display. This girl definitely had balls, Riddick thought, smirking to himself.

"The peacock was a strange choice, will not dig for the answer, a promise is a promise." She gave him a perfect imitation of his smirk before unlatching her door and climbing out.


	3. Chapter 3

"Is this going to happen every time?" Simon muttered to himself despondently as he picked his foot off the squishy pile of dung. Kaylee and River tried unsuccessfully to suppress their giggles while Jayne rolled his eyes at the pansy as he slung his shotgun over his shoulder walking down the ramp.

"What are we doing on this heap anyway? Please tell me we are not transporting cattle again." Inara turned pleading eyes towards Mal.

"Just refuel and resupply, we need to keep off the proximity of the Alliance and they give this ground a wide berth."

"Yes, they only just _happen_ to be here whenever we make ground." Jayne snarked back, patting his shotgun to reassure himself.

Riddick observed their banter from the shadows of the cargo hold.

"Little bit, you're with me." Mal ordered walking off and missing the sharp look Inara gave him. River happily followed him; it was good to feel useful.

"Now wait a minute…" Simon trailed off, being wholly ignored.

"Let her go Simon." Kaylee sighed, exasperated with his mentality that his badass sister needed his protection.

Jayne gave Simon a condescending glare. "Yea, last time I checked, she wasn't the one that managed to get herself kidnapped when we was here last." Both were startled by the vote of confidence, but Kaylee gave him a slow smile that had Jayne spinning around and beating feet away as fast as he could. It was downright unsettling the things that happened to him when she smiled like that.

Riddick waited for Kaylee, Inara and Simon to head off before stepping out. He intended to go find the nearest bar and settle himself down for a couple hours of drinking and entertainment if it came his way, which it always did. So he couldn't explain why his feet were stalking its way in the direction that the girl had gone.

She was no business of his, had in fact proven that she could handle herself. Didn't matter though, she wasn't his, and trailing after her scent was unacceptable. He willed himself to stop and took a few steps in the direction of the smell of corn whiskey.

"_Little Bit, you're with me_" echoed uninvited in his head and a slow burning rasp escaped his throat. He would just make sure Mal was on his best behavior and then he'd move along.

* * *

By the third store, she was itching to dig herself into his head. But that wasn't nice, wasn't polite, people didn't like their soiled undergarments to be viewed.

Mal held up a couple of shirts, "What do you think?"

She leaned her head out comparing him to the tiny shirt, "It will fail to function when you put it on."

"Not for me, for you."

"I have adequate clothing." River responded, her confusion sinking deeper.

"Well, I wouldn't call what you run around in adequate. You need things you can fight in, clothes that won't draw so much attention."

"These garments hold no unusual fascination." She vehemently defended, looking down at herself.

"Listen River, you're growing up and uhh…men, particularly bad men, will think to do bad things when they see you in a dress." He stammered out awkwardly, wishing he had asked Kaylee along to explain it and trying not to look pointedly at the paper-thin number she had on right then.

She considered his words carefully. "But they would not succeed."

"I don't doubt that little one, just do it for my peace of mind." Frowning she looked into the pile of clothing that had been tossed carelessly together with no regard for order and plucked out a pair of grey shorts and a brown shirt.

"This will suffice." Mal quickly went to pay, grateful he had gotten out of that without an explanation of the 'bad things' that men would do.

They stepped out of the store together, River looking down at the ground and Mal having a shit eatin grin on his face for successful accomplishment of the mission.

The grin melted off his face as he watched River quietly walking beside him.

"I didn't mean to…I just think you'd be safer….I'm sorry if I…" He ran a hand through his hair; frustrated he couldn't ever get out what he was trying to say.

She looked up at him, disappointment written all over her face.

"Thought there was a use, a need. Just another caretaker, cutting the grass."

She walked away despondently, leaving him by himself.

"Oh come on," he shouted after her, "you're gonna have to give me a little time to work that one out!" "There's not even any grass to cut around here." He mumbled to himself under his breath.

She turned seemingly random corners, walking without conscious thought. Riddick blocked her way up ahead and she smoothly sidestepped him without acknowledgement.

"I don't like being ignored." He growled after her, resisting the urge to push her up against a wall again.

"Requested no meddling. Honoring your request."

So that explained why she had avoided him since their confrontation in her bunk. A strange part him felt a little relieved, he dismissed the sensation immediately.

"Where's the captain?"

Huffing, she made to leave again.

Grabbing her tiny wrist, he stopped her, "Did he try something?"

"Try, try, they all try. Take the little girl by the hand, never let her lead, silly men, don't know the girl created the steps."

"Speak plain girl." He shook her, frustrated that he couldn't understand.

"There is a pretty girl in the bar, waiting for someone exactly like you. She will give you what you want. The dance card is full, don't pity the wallflower." She snaked her wrist from his firm grasp and slipped away.

Never one to turn down good advice, he made his way to the bar angry and more than a little confused.

Stepping through the doors, he tugged down his goggles, the dingy bar was dimly lit enough for him to tolerate. Just as she promised, a gorgeous redhead sat at the bar, unfortunately she was laughing delicately at something the man next to her had just said. Normally, he wasn't one to compete, they either wanted him or they didn't, but he couldn't help some nagging feeling that she had sent him here for a reason.

Drawing up a stool on the other side of redhead, he ordered a whiskey and turned to say hello when he caught sight of the face of the man red head was talking to. A killer smile graced his lips as he downed the whiskey in one shot, this was going to be fun.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks for all the feedback! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update, all my English courses are kicking my arse.

**Take a Bow and Turn a Corner**

She peered nervously at the offending objects. Rationally she understood the purpose, could even surmise the benefits. But it wasn't just what they were; it was a change, a final step. Lifting her dress over her head, she smoothed the soft blue cloth and folded it gently. Each tiny stitch held a part of her, it remembered who she was then and accepted who she was now. No judgments for dancing with the dark.

She slipped on the shorts, sturdy but soft. Next came the shirt, a sleeveless dark brown made of buttery leather. This was who she had to be, for Simon, for Mal, for Serenity. Pulling her boots back on, she slipped a knife into her right boot and took a deep breath. Would they accept it, accept her? They feared her still and she had hid behind the little girl façade for as long as she could. Would they still see her as crew without the mask?

Gripping the cool metal ladder she climbed out of her bunk and treaded softly to the bridge. Zoe stopped in front of her on her way out, a trace of amusement still lingering in her smile. She usually looked like that after spending quality time with Wash in the bridge. She scanned River once, from her free flowing hair down to her combat boots. She was no longer the little girl that everyone would dismiss as harmless or try to take advantage of, she looked grown, and a bit dangerous. Zoe didn't know if this was good or bad, she respected River for her fighting ability, even liked her a bit, but she brought a whole lot more attention to Mal's crew than she liked. But captain's mind was made and that's all she needed to accept her. Giving her a small, sharp nod in greeting, she continued past her.

River ran lightly up the steps and into Wash's domain. Wash looked up knowing it would be her. Having his back to the entry point made him very keen to learn everyone's tread. They all had very distinctive footfalls with musical patterns to them. Maybe he could do a little drumbeat every time one of them entered to see if they would figure out it was them. Or he could find songs that matched their step and blast it every time they came in, a theme for each person announcing their presence. But who would blast his presence? How could he be announced if he was always present? He struggled to untie himself from his logic knot and noticed that River was still standing there not saying anything.

"Riv? Is everything alright?"

"You're the one sitting there with a goofy grin, chasing god knows what thought tangent." River replied sarcastically stepping further in.

"Don't you know the tangent?"

"Trying to be polite and not swim in your stream."

"Hrm…ok." He was already distracted by another thought when he suddenly announced, "Hey! How bout I teach you the finer points of our fine girl here."

She threw herself in the co-pilot seat deciding to humor him. She knew Serenity backwards and forwards, the only thing he could teach her was in the sky and they were currently landlocked.

"I'm going to show you the absolute, most important thing on my control panel." He solemnly lectured as he reached across the dashboard.

"May I introduce, the T-Rex. Yes he is feared but he's working on suppressing his carnivorous, murderistic nature and we are trying to nurture that." Looking properly awed, she held out her hand so Wash could gravely set the reformed killer on her flat palm.

* * *

"You're wasting your time Red, he likes them young and you look to be bout ten years older than what stirs him." The besmirched man whipped his head around the figure of Red to see who was speaking.

"Riddick. Here I am trying to have a nice quiet conversation with a lovely lady and you go spouting your filth around, does that seem right to you?"

"Did he tell you the part where after he talks you into going somewhere with him, he ties you up and carves you to shreds 'til you're begging him for the kill?" Riddick crooned to Red as he took another mouthful of corn whiskey, tasted like shit but it burned so good. Red immediately became flustered and very nervous, she stumbled, half-running out of the bar. It was a shame, she cut a fine form in her tight purple dress, but he liked 'em a bit less squeamish.

"You know I had put a solid fifteen minutes of polite conversation into that. Now I have to start all over. Didn't your mother teach you any manners?"

"Yea I see how well that worked out for you." He stood up, encouraging him to get closer, just a couple of feet and he would be ended quickly and soundlessly.

"I know your tricks and your penchant for knives, I won't be falling for that again." He fingered a ridge of scar tissue along his eyebrow. Nodding to some men in the corner he stepped back a few feet and drew his gun. The shadowy men stepped forward, guns drawn and leveled at Riddick.

"See I learned a few things since the last time we ran into each other. Every man has a price, and if that price is that safety and security of their loved ones than so be it. I don't go anywhere anymore without making a few pay that price. Now, I believe we have a score to settle."

"Did someone say score to settle? How 'bout we even up the odds." Mal smirked from the doorway, his gun drawn and Jayne right behind him with his shotgun peeking out over Mal's shoulder.

"It's funny that you say that Jubal Early, considering we have some unbalanced accounts of our own." Mal stepped further into the bar, shaking his head as the nameless men with guns tightened their grip on their triggers.

"I give you gents one chance to walk away, I swear this man will not live to harm any one of you."

One man who's hand was shaky looked at a burly beast of a man in the lead. The lead man considered for a moment, but he had higher stakes than the young nervous colt and with the picture of his little girl and boy in his head and images of what Early promised to do to them if he didn't provide his gun hand, he shifted his aim from Riddick to Mal, his mind decided.

"Okay then." Mal dived to a table, firing off a shot that lodged true into the throat of the lead man and yanked the table over for cover. Jayne shot a blast that took out the shaky one and injured a second that was standing too close to him. Early shot his gun as Riddick made his move, before he could fire another, Riddick was twisting his gun hand, crippling it and moving behind him. Jayne hastily moved to Mal's cover as he reloaded. The two men left fired carelessly at them, backing away from the conflict. On Mal's nod, Jayne rolled left and Mal rolled right taking one shot a piece at the two foolish men not smart enough to walk away when it was offered.

Riddick was not all concerned at the fireworks going off around him. He was busy enjoying the sensation of his shiv, digging slowly into Early's spine. Mal and Jayne approached the pair.

"Hate to interrupt but I do have one quick question. How in the gorram hell did you find your way out of the freefall burial that I gave you."

Early smiled, knowing he had no chance. He always knew he'd go out like this, his sins had to be paid somehow.

"Ask your crew. General Book is the one that implemented the procedure, he taught me well. A brilliant man, he could mitigate any scenario and yet I knocked him out without him even knowing it was coming, does that seem right to you? Speaking of crew, where's the girl?" A feverish glint entered his eyes as he looked about.

Mal drew his pistol to Early's face. "Book is and always will be Sheppard." He squeezed the trigger, making a fine mess of his face, ensuring there was no way he would find a way out of this scenerio. "And no one will ever say different." Mal walked away, calling to Riddick that they would be in the sky in ten.

Riddick kneeled over Early's slumped form and patted his pockets. His attention caught on a glint of silver round his neck. Smiling he grasped the metal chain and yanked it off the dead form.

"Girl is turning out mighty useful." He said to himself, pocketing the chain with shiny metal object dangling off of it, an object he'd spent the better part of a year trying to track down. He stood up and surveyed the fallen locals that had been forced into Early's service, but he remembered, he should not pity them.


End file.
